Code Of Honour
by Forestwytch
Summary: A stranger with a shrouded past comes to LA in need of help of the NCIS Special Projects Team - but is there more to her than meets the eye? Contains some discussion of child abuse appropriate for a criminal case, not graphic at all but rated M to be safe.


_A/N: This is my first (and probably only) attempt at NCIS LA fanfiction, so no flames please. This idea rattled around my poor tortured brain for a month before I gave in and wrote it out._

Code of Honour.

The NCIS Office of Special Projects team were catching up on paperwork in the bullpen…or at least Sam was. Deeks had his feet up on his desk, scrolling through surfing videos on his cell, Kensi was eating something unidentifiable from a plastic carton and Callen was cleaning his gun. All were surprised when an old friend walked in.

"Hey guys, did you miss me?"

"Nate! Nice to see you! What are you doing here?" asked Callen, standing to shake Nate's hand.

"Ah, Hetty thought you'd need me for this one."

"This one _what_ exactly?" said Sam.

Nate opened his mouth and closed it again as Eric whistled from Ops.

"Ah, that one I guess," said Nate with a small smile.

"Well your timing is perfect, but why did Hetty call you back from wherever it is you've been?" asked Callen as they climbed the stairs.

Nate shook his head and looked uncomfortable. "I think Hetty ought to explain that."

When the team made it up to Ops, Hetty and a very tired looking Eric were already talking quietly in a corner.

"How is our lone soldier Mr. Beale? Do we have any leads yet?"

"Nothing yet Hetty, I was hoping she'd call something in. I've got nothing here. Doesn't help that I've been doing this on my own."

"Doing what on your own Eric?" asked Callen. "What have we got? Who's the lone soldier?"

Hetty turned to the team. "Yesterday afternoon, Laura Robinson the eight-year-old daughter of Naval Officer Lt Commander Liam Robinson was abducted. Unfortunately this is only another chapter in an ongoing investigation. However, the Agent in charge of the operation has missed her check in call and we cannot trace her. Mr Beale, I need you to obtain the records and files for Operation Archery from British Secret Intelligence Service. Talk to Henry Railin there and tell him "Code of Honour". He'll know what it's about," Hetty paused as her eyes took in the stubble on Eric's chin, the dark circles under his eyes and the creases in his clothes from where he'd fallen asleep across his keyboard. "Contact Miss Jones as well. Apologise for shortening her leave but we need her back here right away, if only so you can have a shower."

"Hetty, what does "Code of Honour" mean? It's not a code term I'm familiar with, what's happening?" asked Callen.

Hetty looked Callen in the eye. "It means we have a problem Mr Callen. It isn't an official phrase in the manner you think. It's become synonymous with a secret operation that's been going on between us and MI6 for the past six months. It was coined by the head of the operation, an MI6 agent called Agent Alison Bates. I'll let her explain that once we find her. The investigation has tracked a group of paedophiles and their financial sponsor across the US..."

Hetty was interrupted by the bleep of a cell phone. She pulled her phone from a pocket, looked at it and replaced it. She retrieved a different phone from her inside pocket ignoring the looks of interest from the rest of the team, looked at it, paled, and immediately passed it to Eric.

"Find her."

"Hetty? What's happened to her? Where is she?" asked Nate urgently, looking worried.

"Trace the location of the cell that sent this message Mr Beale, as fast as you can please. One of our own is in trouble. Ms Blye, Mr Deeks, go wherever Eric sends you. Mr Callen, Mr Hanna, talk to the family of Laura Robinson."

"_Hetty!_ Is she alright?" cried Nate.

"I don't know."

Nate put his face in his hands.

Eric rattled off an address for the Robinson family and Callen and Sam left. He looked at the message, which simply read, "Help".

_6 months ago:_

_Special Agents Kensi Blye, Sam Hanna and Detective Marty Deeks watched with interest as Operations Manager Hetty poured tea for the visitor in her office. Non-NCIS personnel were usually entertained at the Boatshed, not at base so the fact that the female stranger was even in Hetty's office spoke volumes. The two seemed to be chatting amicably, sharing a pot of Hetty's tea. _

"_Who is she? I've never seen her before," said Hanna._

"_Me either," said Kensi. "Where's Callen? Maybe he'd know."_

"_I don't know! I'm not his keeper!" said Hanna. "She must be a really good friend. That's Hetty's Yunnan Snow Mountain tea."_

"_So nobody recognises her? Shame, 'cos damn she's hot," mused Deeks, tapping a biro on his desk. He didn't manage to move fast enough to avoid the slap on his leg from his partner. "Kensi, can you read them?" he asked, still rubbing his leg._

_Kensi turned in her seat to get a better view._

"_Not well. They both know they can be seen." Kensi frowned in concentration. "Something about an opportunity…and a favour…and…"_

_Their observations were interrupted by a whistle from Eric in Ops._

"_Duty calls guys! We got a case."_

_Kensi huffed in frustration as both Hetty and the stranger broke off their conversation to look first at Eric, then at the agents staring at them. The stranger flashed her a bright smile that went with her hazel green eyes which sparkled with fire and determination. Her hair was a deep reddish chestnut and seemed impossibly long, plaited into a tail that hung all the way down her back. As Kensi climbed the stairs to Ops, she saw the woman give Hetty a silver heart-shaped locket on a long silver chain and say, "look after him for me." Hetty took the locket and gave the stranger a cell phone and murmured the words, "just in case." The woman bowed, and left._

Sam Hanna looked over to his partner as they drove to Lt Commander Robinson's home.

"What's up G? I can practically hear you thinking from here."

"There's just something not right about this case."

"You mean apart from grown men touching little girls? That someone is bankrolling these people? That the Agent investigating has gone missing? Or that MI6 is involved in something you'd think would be below their radar?"

"Yeah, apart from that."

Sam laughed. "I think you're getting paranoid in your old age."

"And I think it's kept me alive. Why haven't we heard anything about this operation before? Or Bates?"

Sam looked uncomfortable. "Maybe we didn't have the need to know. I don't know G, I don't like it either. Nate seemed pretty upset; you think she and him are involved?"

The pair exchanged a thoughtful look.

"Nate should know better. Hetty'd skin him," said Callen, although his words sounded unconvincing even to him.

They pulled up at the Robinson family home. It was a white painted colonial style house set a little way back from the road by a short path. A veranda ran round the front of the house, and several planters had been put both on the veranda and the steps leading to the front door. All looked in need of water and a little love and attention.

"Your parking is getting worse – can I call a cab to the kerb? Maybe I should drive on the way back," said Callen, looking out the window.

"And let you drive my car? G, I've seen you drive. Not in a million years."

They climbed out the Challenger and walked up the short path to the house. A dark haired man was sat on the front steps with a coffee, seemingly staring into space.

"Lt Commander Robinson?" asked Callen.

The man nodded.

"Special Agents Callen and Hanna NCIS. Can we talk to you?"

The man turned to look at the agents for the first time. His eyes were rimmed in red, showing his distress. His eyes darted between Callen and Sam and he appeared to tense, bracing himself for news. "Have you found my daughter?"

Callen shook his head and Robinson's shoulders dropped. "We're looking for her. We wanted to ask you if you'd seen anything odd lately: cars following you or your children, men hanging around the house, that sort of thing."

Robinson sighed. "No, nothing out of the ordinary. Please, find her."

"We will sir. Do you mind if we take a look around your house?" asked Sam.

Robinson waved his arm in the general direction of the door and went back to staring into middle distance.

"How long you think he's been sat there?" asked Callen as they entered the house.

"Long enough for his coffee to be cold – it wasn't steaming and looked as bad as some of the stuff you drink, G," replied Sam. "I'd be out there looking for her if it was one of my kids, you wouldn't be able to stop me."

"So why's the Commander sat on his own front steps with cold coffee?"

Sam shrugged and they split up to go through the house.

Callen and Sam looked through every room in the small house looking for anything that would indicate a reason for the abduction of this particular child. Callen bugged the phone in case there was a ransom demand for her, while Sam combed through paperwork. They found nothing of import.

"Where's her mother?" asked Sam, holding up a family photograph as Callen joined him. Laura and her brother Nial were stood with their parents all smiling at the camera, apparently on a family holiday in the not too distant past.

"Mom's dead. Killed by some random drug addict in an SUV," said a voice behind them. "We've not been a proper family since."

Both turned to see a boy standing in the doorway. He had a book in his hand and was obviously more interested in that than the two strangers standing in the dining room.

"Nial Robinson?" asked Callen. The boy nodded. "We're going to find your little sister and the people who did this."

"That's what the cops said after that junkie ran down my Mom," replied Nial bitterly. "They didn't catch him, so why should I expect you guys to do any better?" He turned and left without waiting for a response.

Kensi and Deeks pulled up at the location Eric had given them, a deserted warehouse on the outskirts of a residential area. There didn't seem to be any other people around, but both drew their weapons once leaving the car. Hetty had warned them to be alert and on their guard.

"What do you reckon Kens? She Nate's secret girlfriend or what?" joked Deeks with a smile as they approached the door.

"Deeks! She's a trained operative who knows better than to get involved with a co-worker," replied Kensi scanning the area.

"You can't deny you've never thought about it," he said with a cheeky grin.

"No. I haven't."

"Denied it or thought about it?"

Kensi huffed and avoided eye contact. She pointed with her gun for him to open the door. They crept into the warehouse and almost immediately spotted what they had come to find. In a corner, barely conscious but still alive, was the battered body of the brunette stranger they'd seen six months previously, sitting in a small pool of her own blood.

"Who are you?" she called out as they moved closer.

Special Agent Kensi Blye and Detective Marty Deeks, NCIS. Hetty sent us to get you Agent Bates," replied Kensi.

"Prove it! Code of Honour!"

Hetty had told them what to say if asked and what the expected response should be.

"Only the guilty."

"Protect what you love."

The badly beaten woman started to struggle to her feet, which became easier when Kensi and Deeks reached her side to assist. One eye was mostly swollen shut, and her face was covered in blood, mostly from a gash on her forehead but also from her nose and her split and swollen lip. The fingers on her right hand were crooked, obviously dislocated and she was covered in deep purple bruising. She staggered as they reached the car, and leant against it to catch her breath, holding her side, indicating cracked ribs.

"You look like you need a hospital," commented Deeks.

"No! No, I just need to get back to Hetty. I have to talk to her," replied the woman. "And have a shower," she added, looking down at her bloodstained clothes with distaste.

At the woman's direction, Kensi retrieved a duffel bag from the barrel the woman had been sitting against. The ride back to Ops was a quiet one, the mystery woman not answering any of their questions. She sat in the back of the car seemingly unconscious.

Hetty and Nate met them at the door on their arrival, opening the back door of the car to peer in at the beaten woman.

Without opening her eyes, she murmured, "I'll live Hetty."

"Whilst I have no doubt of that my dear, I rather doubt you are in much state to do anything apart from that."

The woman smiled and snorted in amusement, an action that brought a cry of pain as she clutched her ribs. With Hetty's help, she clambered from the car and although unsteady on her feet she made it to a sofa in the bull pen. Before anyone could say anything, she held out her right hand to Hetty.

"I'm ready," she said quietly and closed her eyes.

"What? What does that mean?" asked Deeks, perched on his desk, craning his head to see what was happening.

"You probably don't want to see this Deeks, we all know you're a little delicate," said Kensi with a smirk.

"Huh?" queried Deeks, who then went a little green at the three sharp crunches as Hetty re-located the woman's fingers.

Kensi looked impressed; she hadn't made a sound apart from a sharp intake of breath. Relocation without painkillers was a painful process.

"Eew! Did I hear what I think I did? That's disgusting!"

Kensi shushed him as they leaned closer, trying unsuccessfully to hear the whispered conversation between Hetty and the injured woman. Finally, Hetty nodded and stepped back. The woman smiled weakly and struggled to her feet once more. Hetty reached into a pocket and withdrew a heart-shaped locket on a silver chain and held it out to her.

"I believe you asked me to keep this safe."

Bates smiled, reached out and gently took the locket, stroking it in her hand.

"You get started without me, I need to clean up." With a nod to Kensi and Deeks, she slowly made her way towards the showers, looping the locket over her head as she went.

Nell arrived shortly after, with her travel bag still looped over her shoulder.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?"

"You mean apart from everything? A real nest of intrigue, lies, sex and murder," asked Deeks with grin.

"Deeks! Don't make me muzzle you!" exclaimed Kensi.

"Hmm I'd like to see you try," he replied quirking his eyebrow. He took one look at Kensi's face and ran up to Ops, taking the stairs two at a time to keep ahead of her. They all heard his yelp which was swiftly followed by a cry for mercy.

"Miss Jones, up to Ops with you and relieve your exhausted counterpart if you would please," said Hetty. "We will join you momentarily."

Nell nodded and climbed the stairs in a more dignified manner than the agents had done.

Hetty turned to Nate. "Is she up to this?"

Nate rubbed his eyes and then stood looking in the direction Bates had gone.

"Honestly I have no idea. The very idea of her simply diving back in scares me in a way I rather not admit. She's reckless."

Hetty nodded.

"Mmm, and you have doubts about her ability because of that?"

"No, not her ability. Only her safety."

The pair exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Hetty smiled and they climbed the stairs to Ops.

In Ops, Hetty started to outline Operation Archery. It was nominally a joint operation between MI6 and NCIS, with Agent Bates as its head and sole operating force. The target was a group of three child molesters from England whom she had been tracking for the best part of four years. The group were apparently financed by a fourth man that nobody had managed to track down or even identify. It was interest in the identity of the fourth man that had prompted MI6 involvement – rumours were that he was the notorious "Evan". A man who had been linked to everything from drugs to arms deals with Al Qaeda. NCIS had granted Agent Bates temporary agent status in order for her to operate legally in the US once the group had entered the country. The group moved regularly, making them hard to locate, but more than fifty child abusers had been jailed in the six months that Bates had been tracking them through the US.

"So I'm guessing they're not in LA for the celebrity bus tours. Out of all the agencies Bates could team up with, why us? I mean, why not the FBI?" asked Deeks.

"Because if I had asked the FBI, I wouldn't have Hetty," replied Bates entering the Ops centre, now clean and dressed in jeans and a grey t-shirt and carrying a battered looking laptop under one arm. The stiff way she walked suggested someone had bound her ribs to ease the pain. Now that the dirt had been removed, she looked more like the confident woman the agents had seen six months previously, apart from the bruises marring her face and arms. There were old scars on her arms as well, some thin, like knife wounds as well as old cigarette burns. "I'm used to being undercover for years at a time; I needed to know I could trust my contact on the outside – that means Hetty: I wouldn't trust anybody else. There was one other I would have trusted, but he's dead, so…" Bates shrugged, "it had to be NCIS."

"OK, while I get that – what's with the secret code words? Isn't that all a bit…ah, unoriginal?"

Bates smiled. "Maybe, but it's worked. Everybody has their own personal code of honour, a code they live by. It was deemed the easiest way to identify other people involved. It's also become the unofficial name of the op…for one reason or another."

"And yours is 'protect what you love'?" asked Kensi

"Yes," replied Bates and then laughed, "although at the moment that means I'd end up taking a bullet for my smartphone, or my laptop and online gaming accounts – living in one's car does that to you."

"So where are we with this group of paedophiles?" asked Deeks, eager to get back to the case.

Bates gave her beloved laptop to Nell, who connected it to the plasma screen. She then pulled up id shots of the three men. There were multiple shots of each. Bates explained that the men had cosmetic surgery each time they entered a new country, and obtained fraudulent identity documents with their new faces.

"As they've travelled across the country, they've abducted and abused a series of children. Each time they stop, they make contact with others who share their, ah, tastes. I've managed to incarcerate most of them as I've followed the group, although I've had to leave some to be mopped up by local law enforcement. The main three however, have always moved on before I can get to them. I'm always behind them, but I'm getting closer. When they left South America they managed to get me held by the Polizia on trumped up drugs charges. They've got the money and apparently also the connections to bribe their way at the highest level. Or their financial sponsor does at least. Their usual MO is to snatch street kids – ones that won't be reported missing, or have anyone to miss them. This time however, they've messed up. The girl they've taken is the daughter of a naval officer – which means I know where they snatched her, when they snatched her, and gives us a maximum radius in which they can be. This time, I'll get them and whoever it is that bankrolls them!" Bates' eyes where bright with fury as she spoke. She turned to the plasma screen and nodded to Nell, who had been uploading data from Bates' laptop.

"This," she pointed at the screen, indicating a red point on a map, "is where we know that eight-ear-old Laura Robinson was taken. She was on her way from here," indicating another point Nell had highlighted, "Burgess Elementary School, to here, Milton Junior High where her older brother Nial attends. Their father usually picks both children up together, but last night, Laura didn't meet Nial. There is only one place along her route that isn't covered by security or traffic cameras. Here," she pointed. "We know what time she left Burgess and roughly what time she usually arrived at Milton so we have an idea what time it occurred. Mr Beale, can you and Miss Jones go through traffic cameras and see if you can find any vehicles entering and leaving our blind spot regularly over the last two to three weeks. Identify license plates and owners, eliminate as many as possible. Also see if you can find us any eye-witnesses. Agent Blye, Detective Deeks, we are going to the crime scene. I didn't get much done last night before this," she indicated her black eye, "happened. That's how I know this seemingly random kidnapping is to do with my case. They know I'm coming this time."

Kensi, Deeks and Bates were combing the site where Laura had been abducted. Unfortunately, there was little to find, except spatters of Bates' own blood. Closer investigation of some bushes located the young girl's cell and further in, her school bag. Both were undamaged and apparently wiped clean. Bates and Kensi inspected the slope to one side of the sidewalk while Deeks called Eric to check if Laura's cell phone had been used.

"You mentioned back in Ops that there had been one other person you would have trusted – can I ask, what happened to him?" asked Kensi.

Bates sighed. "I was undercover. I was a mail-order bride from Slovakia for a Russian businessman," she grimaced. "My Russian isn't great, but I'm fluent in Slovak. My husband-to-be had previously been suspected in supplying arms and money to terrorist groups across Europe but nothing had been proved. When he sent off for a 'trophy wife' it was an opportunity not to be missed. It was expected that I would have affairs, it wasn't like we were marrying for love! As long as I was discrete and didn't embarrass my husband, it wouldn't be a problem. I didn't intend to, but…Gregor Potrovlic…I would have happily given up everything for him: MI6, the op, my nationality, the whole lot without a second thought to go back to his family's farm and spend the rest of my life with him." Bates' eyes had gone distant with the recollection. "Gregor was an employee of my brother-in-law. A man from a poor background who'd apparently caught his eye at local competitions as an excellent shot. He was hired muscle essentially, but at heart he was a gentle man. We were together for a year before my husband sent me to stay with his mother in Moscow for a month. When I came back, Gregor had disappeared. I investigated as far as I was able but the local opinion was that my husband had him killed because our relationship wasn't as much of a secret as he would have liked. I broke cover, found the proof I needed and killed both my husband and brother-in-law escaping the house. That was ten years ago." Her hand drifted down to stroke the silver locket. "I still miss him."

Kensi politely turned away to let Bates wipe her eyes. They walked back up the slope together, having found nothing more. Deeks was waiting for them, leaning casually against the car.

"School bag only has her school stuff in it. Last time the cell was used was yesterday, she was texting one of her friends. Hours before she was taken and completely uninteresting unless you think that two eight year old girls discussing their teacher's dress sense is riveting. Which obviously I don't. Laura and her friend go to the same school and are in the same class – they were in the same room texting back and forth about Miss Bryant's choice of sweater and whether or not it went with her shoes. Not that I read the entire conversation. Err, anyway; Eric has a possible id on a car hanging around the area that wasn't part of the normal school run, no plates, but he's got Kaleidoscope searching for it. Question - if their usual target was a homeless kid, why pick a girl wearing a school bag? Obviously not their usual type of mark."

"No, and my supposed random mugging in the same place as she was taken…there's more to this," replied Bates. "Luckily, my car's parked more than a mile away so they only thing they could damage was me. We've got nothing here. Let's hope Agents Callen and Hanna got something from the family."

Back in Ops, Nell and Eric were combing the financial records Bates had put together, in the hope of trying to trace the person funding the group of paedophiles.

"If we can find a correlation between banks or dates for when they get their money, we might be able to back trace the deposits to an individual," said Nell.

"Right, and we can narrow it down by banks that have branches in towns we know they've visited," replied Eric.

"And when we get a match on banks, we can run facial recognition to find common vectors."

"And maybe tie it to our mystery car," said Eric with a glance at the screens being used by Kaleidoscope.

The pair exchanged grins, sat down at their computers and went to work.

Kensi, Deeks and Bates were met by Nate when they arrived back at base.

"Hey. Did you find anything?"

"Just her bag and cell. Nothing useful. Where have you been Nate? We've missed you!" said Kensi.

"Well, here and there. Mostly there." He looked over at Bates. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Bates nodded wearily, passed the cell and backpack they'd found to Kensi and followed Nate.

In an apparently disused room, Nate perched on the edge of a dusty desk and Bates stood as far away as possible from him, between Nate and the door. She stood with her arms wrapped across her body shifting from one foot to the other, apparently uncomfortable with the scrutiny from the psychologist.

"So, how's it going?" asked Nate when it became evident that she wasn't going to start talking.

Bates snorted. "It isn't." She started pacing the width of the room, back and forth, getting more agitated as she spoke, waving her hands in the air. "We have no leads beyond what I already knew. And I was attacked by three people that I suspect were after the intell I've gathered so far. Another girl has been taken and I don't know where she is. I still have no idea where they've taken her, or why. Well, no, I know why, I mean I don't know what they're doing taking a girl so different from their usual targets. I can't help but feel like someone's moving against us. By kidnapping a Navy child, it guaranteed I'd come back to NCIS. It means that the three people involved in this op in the US are now in LA, together, despite you trying to keep me away from here. Although I never did work out why." Bates turned to Nate with a raised eyebrow. "You might be better at reading people than I am Nate, but you avoid the question or redirect me every time. I've known you long enough to know that's what you're doing."

"When was the last time you slept Ali? You look exhausted, you're hurt and you know as well as I that sleeping on the back seat of a car isn't conducive to proper rest."

Bates smiled at the evasion. "You must be jet lagged Nate, you're being obvious." She sighed. "I'm not saying that the prospect of decent sleep isn't attractive right now, but I can't leave others with my case. I've been on this for so long I just can't let somebody else run with it. And what's a couple of scars?" She shrugged, and said quietly, "I've got more than my fair share already, a few more doesn't matter." Bates sighed and turned away, and muttered bitterly to herself, "not like anyone else is ever going to see them all anyway."

In the quiet of the room they were in, Nate heard every word, although he knew her last comment was not meant for his ears. He stood up and grasped her by her shoulders, ignoring her flinch. "You need to take a step back. Get some sleep; you'll be of more help fully rested. I'll call you if they find anything. I promise. Let them help you Ali. I know you hate asking others for help, but you need this."

Bates nodded unhappily, and then yawned; which drew a chuckle from Nate along with a raised eyebrow as if to say, "I told you so." He gathered her towards him, enveloping her in his arms. She accepted the comfort slowly, but eventually, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on top of hers. Bates relaxed and allowed her head to lean on his chest.

"I've known you for long enough to know when you're on the edge. Let me help you Ali. Let me in. Please," murmured Nate quietly into her ear.

His reply was a muffled sob, and a shuddering gasp for breath. Nate closed his eyes in grief at her distress. He squeezed her a little tighter and she sobbed again. And again. The floodgates opened and Bates clung to his shirt weeping hysterically. Nate held her until her tears had run their course, stroking her back and whispering nonsense words of comfort and blinking away the tears that threatened to fall from his own eyes.

When Bates had calmed, Nate released her.

"I need to talk to Hetty then I'll take you to a hotel. Come on." Nate put his arm around her. This time, expecting the contact, Bates didn't flinch. She leaned against him in a sort of one-armed hug.

"Thank you" she said quietly as they walk out the door.

In her office, Nate spoke quietly with Hetty.

"Bates is too close to this investigation. She bears the marks and scars of abuse and flinches at unexpected contact, even from a friend. She hugs herself for comfort and is incredibly self-reliant, untrusting of others - classic abused child. I've known her for a good while, but she won't talk about it or open up to me in any way. I know that's why you brought me in on this Hetty, given the nature of what we're investigating, but I don't know that I've actually helped her. She still has the same cavalier attitude towards her own wellbeing as she did when we met. Her personal safety is a long way down her list of priorities, very much below the outcome of this case. Five minutes ago, the calm and apparently stable woman sat over the there checking her emails on her phone, had an emotional breakdown on a scale I would not have believed she was capable of. If she were a full NCIS Agent I'd put in a report recommending she be pulled from the investigation immediately."

Hetty nodded her understanding. "Whilst I know most of Alison's history, some of it is still hidden. What I do know, isn't pretty. I've known her for many, many years and probably know more about her than anybody else. She doesn't trust easily, so her choice of me as her outside contact for this operation is rather flattering. However, her story is a rather sad lonely one. She found somebody once, but it was more complicated than anybody imagined," replied Hetty.

"She told me the story of her lost love; she carries his picture in the locket she wears. It's not healthy to obsess over a dead loved one, especially after so long," Nate paused. "Especially if it blinds you to the opportunity to find love again."

Hetty narrowed her eyes following Nate's comment. She paused long enough silently assessing him to make him uncomfortable.

"She didn't show you the picture?" she asked finally.

"No, the locket has been soldered shut for as long as I have known her. Have you?"

"Yes. Which is why I know it was complicated."

When Callen arrived back at base, he went straight to Hetty's office.

"Where's Bates?"

"She's alive, if a little battered and bruised. Nate took her to a hotel to get some well deserved rest."

"A hotel? Are they…I mean, Nate seemed close to her." Callen raised an eyebrow. "Too close maybe?"

"Alison Bates is good friend, that's all," said Nate from behind him. "She's been through a lot, but she'd never betray the memory of her dead lover, even after ten years." Nate paused and looked uncomfortable. "Even if she slowed down enough to see that someone wanted to." He looked away briefly, sighed, and continued. "She's married to her job and from what I know of her, no man will ever change that. Maybe once, but not now. She lives for the work, and would be happy to die doing it."

All three were silent following this dire pronouncement, until their thoughts were interrupted by Eric.

"We got a hit."

In Ops, Eric and Nell showed the team their analysis of the banking and financial records obtained by Bates. The paedophiles were using safety deposit boxes in fake names rather than bank accounts which could be traced to an individual. It looked like money and instructions for the next drop were being left each time, along with a key to the next drop.

"This means whoever is financing this is directing where they go next. They're just following the breadcrumbs," said Callen.

"We've got facial rec running for common faces using the safety deposit boxes in the towns the group has visited. We'll let you know when we get something."

The team sat in the bullpen working over the details of the case.

"She turns up out of nowhere, where's she been the last six months?" asked Kensi.

"Bates? You've seen her before?" asked Callen.

"She was here with Hetty. That was when she gave Hetty that locket to look after. You were…off running an errand for Hetty I think.

"An errand? You mean that day Hetty sent me all the way to Chatsworth for a tip on an op we'd closed a year ago? Well that explains it, I wondered why at the time…So no one really knows her, and the one person who does isn't saying anything."

Callen looked at Nate accusingly, who held up his hands. "Most of what I know about Alison I've learnt whilst talking to her in my official capacity, so…"

"So you can't say anything. Right."

"But I do know she thinks someone is working against her now. She said there were coincidences she didn't like."

"Who can finance this sort of group on a long-term basis?" asked Sam, ignoring the speculation regarding Bates.

"Someone with a lot of money," said Deeks.

"Great deduction Deeks. Any other brilliant insights?" asked Sam sarcastically.

"Err guys, you might wanna see this," called Eric from the balcony.

On the plasma in Ops, Eric played traffic camera footage showing a dirty silver sedan driving fast and erratically. The car weaved through traffic with apparently little care for other road users.

"Why is this important?" asked Sam.

"I ran the license plate. It's a rental, in the name of…"

"Alison Bates," said Hetty. "LAPD just phoned to tell me that one of my agents had managed to rack up about half a dozen traffic violations in as many minutes. Since I knew Mr. Callen was still here it could only be one other…"

"What are you saying about my driving? When was this footage taken Eric?" asked Callen.

"It's live."

Nate's cell rang; he answered it and put it on speaker.

"Ali? What's going on?"

"Nate! They know. I was followed at the hotel. I went back to my car, they've cut the brakes, I can't stop. There's wires, and my stuff's been moved, didn't see it because of the rubbish. The car's filling with smoke. I need somewhere to bail out."

"Take your next left, then go right at the end of that street, there's an empty lot right in front of you," called out Nell, who had been mapping Bates' drive through the city.

They watched as the car pulled into the empty lot, and Bates leapt from the vehicle just before the car exploded. She landed on the ground and rolled several meters before coming to a stop.

She clambered her feet, staggered and fell to her knees. She regained her feet and stumbled out of camera shot.

At the scene of the explosion, the team combed through the evidence. There was not much left of Bates' rental car. By the time they'd arrived, Bates was long gone. Closer investigation showed that the explosive used was a home-made mix that apparently detonated too slowly, giving Bates time to escape. Near to where she had jumped from the car, Callen spotted something drawn in the dust. 'AB' with a tick.

"She's OK. She left us a message," he called to the rest of the team, although her message would have been more reassuring if there hadn't been a blood trail leading away from it.

They followed the trail for a hundred meters or so before it petered out in an alley.

"Where'd she go?" asked Sam.

"Back under, out of contact," replied Callen. "That's what I'd do."

"Well we know one thing," said Kensi. "She was right about someone trying to stop her."

The team exchanged looks. Any further discussion was stopped by Callen's cell phone ringing. He put it on speaker.

"Go ahead Eric."

"We got a hit on the facial rec. In each town, one guy, Charles Rogers keeps on popping up. Different banks each time, but it's definitely the same guy. He's a legal advisor for an investment firm - Global Holdings Limited and travels a lot on business but lives in LA. Every town our group have stopped in, there's an office for his firm. Address is on your cell."

Sam held up his phone to show Callen they'd received Rogers' id and address.

"Got it. Thanks Eric."

When they arrived at the address however, they found signs of forced entry. All drew their weapons. Callen and Sam entered via the front, Kensi and Deeks, the back. The house was quiet as the team moved through.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Got blood."

"G! In here," called Sam from the kitchen.

In kitchen, Sam was looking down at the body of a man. He had been badly beaten, but upon checking the picture sent by Eric, they confirmed it was Charles Rogers. Closer investigation of the body showed that he had been shot in the back of the head, execution style.

"So he was roughed up then shot. Why?" asked Sam.

"Because he knew something, and he told them" said Callen, and phoned Eric. "Eric, did you send Rogers' details to Bates?"

"Yeah, I added her to the group sending list. Why?"

"Because our best lead is dead."

Deeks joined the rest of the team in the kitchen. "There's blood in the bathroom, and what looks like an attempt at bandaging. There's some heavy painkillers missing too," he said holding up an empty pill bottle.

"We need to get inside his firm to find out more. Deeks, you're going to need a new wardrobe."

Dressed in a sharp suit and with his hair wrestled into some form of tidiness, Deeks turned on the spot.

"What do you think?"

"I think you ought to brush your hair more often, you actually look presentable for once," replied Sam.

With Deeks on his way for an interview at Global Holdings for the vacant post of Legal Advisor, the rest of the team turned their attention to finding Bates. They knew she had been at Rogers' house, blood work confirmed she had treated her wounds in his bathroom, however the shell casing found at the scene didn't match Bates' Glock. They started combing through Roger's laptop to see if there was anything that might give them a clue as to where she would go next.

Nate was sat with Hetty in her office. Both were worried.

"While there's no doubt that Alison was at Rogers' house, where is she now?" asked Nate.

"That Mr. Getz, is the million dollar question. I wish I knew. She's hurt and I don't think she's thinking straight. I take comfort that she didn't shoot Mr Rogers, but it is a shallow comfort."

Nate shifted in his seat and pulled out his phone. "She's text me. Just a location. Do you think that's where she is?"

"Or where she wants us to go," said Hetty. "I think this should be just you and I. Road trip Mr. Getz?"

Hetty and Nate slipped out the back way.

When they reached the location, a bench in a park five miles away, Bates was not there. Taped to the underside of the bench was an envelope addressed to Hetty. Inside was a note, which simply read, "I'm sorry but it seems I need to do this alone. Look after him for me."

"Look after who?" asked Nate.

Hetty tipped up the envelope and Bates' locket fell into her hand.

"Oh Alison," said Hetty sadly. She held up the locket by its chain, letting the light catch the detail on the silver. "I don't think she means to come back this time."

By the time Hetty and Nate arrived back at Ops, Deeks was in place. His interview was being conducted by two senior members of the board who had introduced themselves as Nickleson and Phillips. They didn't seem impressed by his carefree attitude, despite his encyclopedic knowledge of the points of law they questioned him about.

"Tell me Mr. Parling; how it is that you contact us for an interview before the body of previous incumbent of this post is even fully cold?" asked Phillips.

Deeks shrugged. "Death is life's way of telling you you're fired," he said with a smile.

His interviewers frowned and exchanged looks.

"The way I see it, I can't afford to die, it costs too much," said Deeks

The two interviewers paused in their questioning to write notes regarding Deeks' responses. Before anything further could be said, Nickleson received a phone call.

"Can't this wait? I am conducting an interview." The man listened briefly then hung up.

Evidently it couldn't wait, as after a brief whispered conversation with his colleague, both men left the room.

As soon as the two were gone, Deeks jumped from his seat, made his way round to the other side of the desk and plugged his IronClad into a USB port on the computer under the desk.

"You getting this Eric?" he whispered

"Almost…I'm in. Downloading," replied Eric via his earwig.

"Hurry up, I don't know how long they'll be gone."

Deeks could hear voices coming closer as his interviewers returned.

"Eric, running out of time here."

"Got it!"

Deeks removed the IronClad and took his seat again, smoothing his suit as they opened the door.

"Mr. Parling, the interview is over, thank you for your time," said Nickleson, holding the door open for him.

Deeks stood with a look of confusion. He extended his hand to shake hands, but Nickleson backed away.

"Please just leave Mr. Parling, Geoffrey will show you out," said Nickleson, indicating a large man in a security guard uniform.

With that, Deeks was herded rapidly from the building.

"They got a phone call halfway through or I wouldn't have an opportunity. I was hoping for a guided tour at the very least, a chance to talk to some people too," Deeks said to Kensi once he was in the car. "But they cut the interview short. Weird."

"Must be the aftershave you're not wearing," said Kensi with a smirk.

"But the ladies love the suit," replied Deeks, running his hands down his body in what he thought was a suggestive manner.

"Deeks! I can't believe you just said that!" exclaimed Kensi.

"Me either," said Sam via earwig. "Brushing his hair has obviously confused him."

Eric and Nell briefed the team on what they had found on Global Holding's hard drive. They had sifted through a mountain of data in order to find a key piece of information.

"So, we searched for anything in common with what we know already and found this," said Nell, bringing up a couple of documents on the big screen. "We found a transaction hidden deep in the data storage invoices for Global Holdings. There's a series of odd payments made to a realtor called Baymer Estates with no indication as to why."

"So what? Lots of companies have real estate that requires their services," said Sam dismissively.

"Although it is a bit strange to hide it among electronic archiving bills," said Kensi.

"Right," said Eric. "It gets better. We did some digging on 'Baymer Estates', it's a lettings company but it didn't exist until about eight months ago, and it only exists on paper. While it has all the appropriate paperwork to make it legal, it's just a shell. It has no employees, no overheads and apparently only exists to receive money from Global Holdings. The money gets drawn out electronically, and goes through a series of offshore numbered bank accounts. We've tracked the money all over the world but lost it in the confusion that is the Chechen banking system. We're still trying to trace it."

"Let us know when you've got something," said Callen.

Eric nodded, as he and Nell went back to work trying to find the money.

"Kensi, Deeks, see if you can find anything more about Baymer. It fulfills all the legal requirements, so must have an accountant. Find the accountant. Sam and I will work on Global Holdings."

"And me?" asked Nate.

"Try and find Bates."

With help from Eric, Kensi and Deeks drove to the offices of a small accounting firm in Venice. The company apparently occupied a first floor office space overlooking a pretty, well maintained riverway. The building was mostly glass with decorative structural steel. A fountain sat in front of the main doors, which were opened by a man in uniform as the two agents approached. The lobby was painted white, with artistic prints on the walls. Their shoes clicked as they walked across the marble floor to the front desk.

"Bit up-market for such a tiny firm," commented Kensi.

"Tell me about it," muttered Deeks quietly, looking around at the opulent surroundings. "But if they have no overheads, how come they're in rented office space?" Deeks then caught sight of the receptionist. "Whoa, foxy! How about I handle this?"

"Hi, my name is Hannah, how may I help you today?" said the young woman at the desk.

"Hi Hannah, how about…" Deeks trailed off into a pained grunt as Kensi elbowed him in the chest, having seen the way Deeks had been looking at the receptionist.

"I'm here to see Baymer Estates, I have a property I'd like to let," she said ignoring the sounds Deeks was making behind her.

"Of course, Miss…" replied Hannah, fishing for Kensi's name.

"Miss Joanna Parsons."

"Thank you Miss Parsons, 2nd floor 5th office on the right hand side as you exit the stairs, or 2nd left if you use the lift. Lift is down the hallway behind me or the stairs are over to your left there," said Hannah, pointing to the staircase to one side of the entrance lobby.

Kensi smiled and dragged a reluctant Deeks away from the brilliant smile of the receptionist. They could see Hannah making a call while watching them climb the stairs.

The second floor of the building was just as high quality as the lobby, although it was obviously meant to be one large open plan space, rather than divided up by flimsy partition walls into numerous small offices. Kensi and Deeks strolled along the corridor until they reached the door for Baymer Estates. The door was festooned with trading notices, there seemed to be several companies operating from this tiny office. They knocked and opened the door in response to the muffled call from inside.

"Miss Parsons I presume? I understand you have a property you'd like to rent?" asked a weedy looking man in a hunting jacket. He had a ratty looking moustache that drooped on one side. He probably thought he looked rather dashing if the smarmy smile was anything to go by, however the overly large ears, the jacket and the moustache made him look more like the circus slug balancer from one of Britain's funnier comedies.

"Yes, a friend recommended you to me…" started Kensi.

"I rather doubt that missy," said a voice from the doorway.

The agents turned to see the owner of the voice was a huge African-American man who stood at just over 6 feet tall, with tattoos covering every visible inch of skin.

"Why don't you just leave and we'll forget you ever came here?" asked the enforcer.

Deeks smiled and grabbed the weedy man just as Kensie felled the giant in the doorway.

"Don't ever threaten someone you don't mean to hurt," she hissed venomously in his ear.

In the Boatshed, Kensi, Sam and Callen watched on screen as Deeks questioned the sniveling accountant.

"You know it would go a lot easier for you if you just told us what we need to know," said Deeks, exasperation clear in his voice.

"You don't know what he's like! He'll probably kill me just for being here with you! Please, you have to let me go. I

Eric interrupted via videolink from Ops. "Hey guys, we found it!"

"I'll get Deeks," said Kensi, and left to interrupt his interrogation.

"Where's the money Eric?" asked Sam.

"It's in a legitimate bank account, having been used to pay rent on a ruined house." Eric continued once Kensi and Deeks had joined Callen and Sam in front of the screen. "It looks like the house is empty but there's been some activity there recently – phone calls and internet use, and then there's this:" he looked down and pulled up a video for them to watch. "The mystery car from the traffic camera footage that we spotted hanging around the abduction site," said Eric. "It's a black SUV without plates, which can clearly be seen taking the turn onto the road leading to the house. This is the place."

The house was a wooden three storey building standing in a large area of dry, unkempt wasteland that didn't look like it had been maintained in several years. Many of the windows had been broken, and the shutters on some had fallen to the ground. The house gave the general impression of dilapidation, which was slightly dispelled by the black SUV parked in front – Eric's mystery car.

The bodies of three men were lying on the grass outside the house. They had been blindfolded, bound and shot in the same fashion as Rogers. Callen took pictures of all three and sent them to Eric.

"Eric can you id the three men I just sent you pictures of?"

"On it."

"G! Shell casings. Same caliber that killed Rogers," called Sam.

"So do you think Bates didn't kill these three either?" asked Kensi.

"Unlikely."

The team entered the building. Deeks and Kensi went upstairs, Callen and Sam moved through the ground floor. On the first floor there was nothing to find, so Kensi crept up the next staircase, followed closely by Deeks. At the end of the hall, one of the doors was locked. Kensi picked the lock and Deeks rushed in checking the room.

"Clear."

He turned to Kensi, who held her finger to her lips and pointed to the valance sheet on the bed. As Deeks watched, the sheet twitched again.

"Cover me," whispered Kensi, and she bent down to the bed and lifted the sheet.

Under the bed was a very scared Laura Robinson; who upon seeing Kensi, scrambled out from under the bed and launched herself into Kensi's arms sobbing.

"It's OK, I've got you. We're going to take you home, your Dad and brother are missing you," said Kensi.

Laura disentangled her herself from Kensi, wiped her eyes on her shirt and sniffed deeply.

"I have to ask you Laura, did anybody touch you or do something they shouldn't?" asked Kensi looking uncomfortable.

Laura shook her head. "They said I was the bait in the trap. They didn't know I could hear them and they said they'd get rid of her this time."

"Who Laura, get rid of who?"

"I don't know, they never said."

Laura squealed with fright as three gunshots sounded through the house.

"C'mon Laura, lets get you out here," said Deeks.

Kensi picked up the young girl and the three of them started to make their way down the hall to the stairs.

Sam and Callen also heard the shots as they crept through the ground floor of the house. Callen pointed downwards indicating where the shots had come from. Sam nodded and pointed towards a door which was partly open, leading down to the basement. The basement was dark, the only light coming from the fading daylight outside filtering through filthy windows. The layout seemed to be a labyrinth of walls and pipe work. They split up at the bottom of the stairs, Callen going left, Sam straight on. Despite his caution, Callen stumbled into an open area before he realized he had done so. In the gloom, his eyes slowly adjusting to the low light, he could make out two figures, one female wearing a hooded top and with her hands tied behind her back. The other was male, holding a gun at the woman.

"Federal Agent! Put down your weapon!" he shouted.

Walking through the maze of walls, Sam turned in the direction of his partner's voice and started to run, hurdling boxes and dodging round pipes.

Instead of throwing down his weapon, the man raised other hand which also contained a gun and shot at Callen. As he pulled the trigger, the woman threw herself at him, pushing his arm to the side. The shot that would have killed Callen instead hit his right arm, making him drop his gun. Several more rounds whistled past his head as the shooter wrestled with the woman trying to disable him, despite having her hands tied. Cradling his arm to his body, Callen searched the floor around him for his gun. He heard rather than saw the man hit the woman across the face with the butt of a gun and she dropped to ground completely stunned. Awkwardly holding his gun only in his left hand, Callen crept around the edge of the room, trying to get to the woman while the man reloaded. She stirred and raised her head as he shuffled closer. Although he couldn't see her much of her face because of her hood, he could see that one of the shots he had heard previously had gone through her shoulder. She turned to look at him and tensed. He looked up to see that the man had disappeared into the shadows. The woman launched herself at Callen just as the man fired from cover. She fell to the ground and did not get up. Turning to the general direction the shots had come from, Callen fired rapidly, emptying his magazine. In the dark, every shot missed. The man emerged from his cover as Callen was reloading, only to be brought down by Sam, who entered the room at a run and tackled the man to the ground. One of the guns went clattering off into the darkness.

Sam and the shooter separated and circled each other.

"You know I can't come in," the man said, one hand in his pocket.

"Don't do it, we can talk about this," said Sam. The man started to move his arm. "Don't do it!"

The man pulled a gun from his pocket and Sam shot him twice. He dropped to the ground, still. Sam moved in, kicking the gun away from the man's hand and checking for a pulse.

"He's dead," he confirmed.

"G," called Sam, wrestling with the shooter. "You OK?"

"I'm good. Bates is down. At least I assume it's Bates. We've never actually met."

"Eric, we need an ambulance here," said Callen, turning over the woman's body. She was still breathing, but only just. She coughed and blood ran from her mouth.

"On its way," said Eric via Callen's earwig.

The woman's eyes opened slightly and she whispered something too quiet for Callen to hear.

"It's OK, don't try to talk. You'll be fine," he said, although he wasn't sure he really believed it.

"C-code…of…H-honour," the woman repeated. Her eyes fluttered shut.

"No, stay with us, open your eyes," said Callen. "Eric! We need that ambulance _now_!"

Outside the house, a paramedic bandaged Callen's arm while two more loaded the miraculously still alive Agent Bates into the back of an ambulance. Sam sat next to him.

"Kensi and Deeks found Laura. She told them she'd had heard them saying she was bait in a trap. I guess we know who for. She's been checked over and apart from a decent dinner, she's alright. They're taking her home."

Callen nodded and watched as the ambulance containing Bates drove away, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

"Think she'll make it?"

Sam looked him, a skeptical expression on his face.

Callen shook his head. "No, me neither."

Back at Ops, the agents were sat in the bullpen watching as Callen tried to scratch under the bandages on his arm with a pen. Eric and Nell clattered down the stairs and fought briefly over the remote for the plasma screen.

"We finally traced the guy providing our three dead sex offenders with money," said Eric who had won the tussle for the remote.

"His name is Miles Chamberlain, UK citizen and former SIS operative," said Nell grabbing the remote from Eric and displaying Chamberlain's passport picture on the plasma.

"Isn't that…?" started Callen.

"The guy I shot in the basement," said Sam.

"If he was former MI6, why was he funding these sickos?" asked Deeks.

"It took some digging, but we found a photo and a sealed file…" said Eric, who was interrupted by Nell.

"Or more accurately, Hetty gave it to us," she said, holding up a USB thumb drive. "I don't know how she got hold of it, but the file details an MI6 op in Russia about ten years ago. Chamberlain was in charge of an investigation into arms deals made between a Russian businessman and European terrorist groups. They had tracked explosives and weapons used by the IRA and ETA to an apparently unremarkable man. Bates was undercover, found the intell, and killed the businessman and his brother making her exit. Unfortunately for Chamberlain, what she'd found implicated him as well. He'd been taking kickbacks in exchange for his silence for years. What she found ruined his career and would have landed him in jail except he escaped before he could be arrested. We've not been able to track all of his movements, but we know of at least seventeen different aliases, across five different countries. He made his money as Evan by buying into drug smuggling cartels and arms deals with terrorists all over the world, using his knowledge from his days with MI6. Operation Archery was instigated when it was suspected that Chamberlain was behind it. The British have been eager to catch up with him for years."

"And it looks like it was all an elaborate scheme to get to Bates in the first place," said Callen as Nate walked in. "The last thing she said to me was the unofficial name of the investigation: Code of Honor."

"And hers was 'Protect what you love,'" said Nate from behind him.

Callen frowned, thought about it and dismissed it as unimportant. "Where's Hetty?" he asked.

"With Ali, ah Bates I mean, at the hospital, it doesn't look good. She said me pacing up and down was making her dizzy and told me to go home. She told me to give you this," replied Nate, holding out Bates' locket.

Callen looked stunned, and reached for the locket slowly as if in a dream. "It's not possible," he said quietly. He sat down quickly as if his knees had gone weak and turned the locket over in his hands. "It's sealed. Eric, get this open."

"What about…" replied Eric looking confused, waving the remote in the vague direction of the plasma.

"I know how it ends. She's supposed to be dead. Open it," said Callen shortly.

The six of them gathered round Eric as he sat at his workbench with the locket under a magnifying glass.

"G, you said you knew the rest. Care to share with the rest of us?" said Sam as it became obvious that Callen wasn't going to explain further.

Callen shook his head, his attention fixed on what Eric was doing. Using a tiny soldering iron, he was melting the solder holding the locket closed. As soon as Eric was finished, Callen grabbed the locket at opened it. Inside was a tiny picture. Of a younger version of himself.

"I've got to go," he said, grabbing his jacket and car keys and sprinting for the door, looping Alison's locket over his head as he went.

"G! Where are you going?" Sam shouted, running after him. "G!" By the time Sam had made it outside the building, Callen was already gone.

"Nell, you said there was a photo on that thumb drive as well? What of?" asked Sam when he rejoined the rest of them.

"Not so much of what, but of whom," said Eric. "It's a scanned image of a Russian passport of an old alias of Callen's when he was still CIA." Eric brought up the image on the screen. As he had said, it showed an old Russian passport showing Callen's picture and his alias: Gregor Potrovlic.

"Callen is the man she told me about. Her lost love. She thought he was dead!" said Kensi, trying to work out what had happened.

"And Callen thought she had been killed by her husband when she disappeared. We spoke about it briefly when he joined NCIS but I didn't know enough to put the pieces together," said Nate. "I certainly didn't know why Hetty kept telling me to try and keep Bates out of LA generally, and here specifically."

"Hetty sent Callen on an errand the day she came in six months ago – to make sure they didn't meet," said Kensi unhappily.

"She said everyone has a code they live by. That's what she meant when she told Callen 'protect what you love' – she took two bullets at point blank range to protect him. She must have worked out who he was." Sam looked troubled.

"So why does everybody look like this is terrible? They've found each other after all," said Deeks.

"Because he's found her only to lose her for real this time. They don't expect Alison to survive the night," replied Nate sadly.

Bates woke up in a hospital bed in a private room to find Callen asleep in a chair next to her bed, fingers of one hand intertwined with hers and her locket looped over the other. Groggily she shifted in the bed, grimacing in pain.

"Keep still my dear, else you'll wake him. He's been with you all night," said Hetty quietly from the doorway.

"Is…is it really him?" asked Bates, looking over to the sleeping man once again, drinking in the profile of his face, so relaxed in sleep.

"Yes. I kept him safe for you. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, but…"

"I understand Hetty. We've found each other now." Bates smiled and stroked the back of Callen's hand with her thumb. "I've done my job."

"Indeed you have," said Hetty, holding up Bates' temporary badge and ID in one hand and weapon in the other. "You won't need these any longer, your time as an NCIS agent is over." Hetty smiled and nodded towards Callen. "You are free to do what you wish…with whomever you wish." With that, she turned and left.

Bates lay back on the bed with happy tears in her eyes.

_Fin._


End file.
